Decision time...

[gpw5150]

Hi All,

I have a pretty nice decision to make....I am very luck to be able to say that it is bonus time!

My Old bass: OLP MM fitted with; SD SM4B pickup, Badass bridge and Stinger preamp.

I would like something new and shiny for gigging.  I am not a big fan of taking out expensive or nickable kit and only have 1 cab, 1 amp and 1 bass, I am a simple soul....

Initial ideas;

• MM Stingray below £1k - There are a couple about and it replaces my OLP
• MM HH Stingray £1.5k - Bit of an upgrade but £1.5k is my max
• Fender Flea Active £1.5k - Bit of a change, but the neck looks weirdly long....
• Build something - Body - £260, Neck - £250 (or ~£400 for a Status neck), Hardware - £150 - TBH, I will buy the parts and probably get someone else to build it - essentially a Flea Active Jazz with a shorted neck and a stingray preamp
• Something Jazz Bassy....but with a thick neck

I like simplicity and I like the Stingray sound.  The build I already have quotes for a body (basically a JB with an MM pickup).  Not really sure what to do TBH.

 

My other thought was to go back to a JB with a precision neck - Does anyone make these as a stock item?

[kyuuga]

How do you like the OLP neck? Does it feel comfortable in your hands and do you like it? 

OLP MM's have a really thick neck, very baseball-like. I have an OLP MM and a Ray34 and although they're similar the OLP is even chunkier so if you're comfortable with it and it feels good I won't recommend a Jazz Bass-like neck - it'll feel like holding a toy. You can try it but you'll notice a huge difference.

If you like the Stingray sound, looks and feels then I definitely recommend going for one. Don't go ham on new basses, stick with what you know & love and get a proper one at a lower cost (an used Stingray for less than 1k is ideal). 

Check out some used Stingrays and see if there's one you like near you. Go try it out and make sure everything works. Used Stingrays are some of the best used basses you can find because their quality is usually pretty solid and as long as the electronics work properly it's a hell of a bass.

[jezzaboy]

If you like the OLP, a secondhand MM from here will be dinky. There are some nice ones for a grand or under. Especially that black and maple jobbie.

[gpw5150]

Bought a Stingray HH secondhand.....!

[martthebass]

Think you made the right call, don’t think you’ll be disappointed 

[kumimajava]

Nice one on the HH-Ray

May be a bit late - but in case one crosses your path, I think something that you may like would be a Modulus "Sonic hammer" - it's the model that predates the Modulus Flea/Funk-Unlimited, with the main difference being that the Sonic Hammer has a more precision-shaped neck (and the Flea has a narrower Jazz shape neck). May be an urban legend, but from what I heard, Flea played the Sonic Hammer, loved the tone, but wanted a narrower neck - so they switched the neck profile, and made the body a bit rounder - and so the Modulus Flea came about. 

For some reason, the Sonic Hammers are much less loved than the Flea/FU basses, so you may bump into one for a sensible price - if it does, do give it a try. 

[itu]

At the moment there is a red Sonic Hammer in the marketplace:

https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/334589-modulus-usa-quantum-ss-sonic-hammer-5-string/